I Tried Cutting Metal with a Creality Falcon 5W, and It Changed How I Buy Equipment

If you run a small shop or manage a maker space, here's the short version of what I learned after testing a Creality Falcon 5W laser engraver for metal marking, alongside our trusty Ender 3 V3 SE: These two machines together handle about 80% of the custom projects people ask for—from engraved metal nameplates to plastic signs and functional parts. But I also found out the hard way that laser cutting metal is a different beast than engraving it, and the Falcon 5W's limits are real.

Why I Ended Up Buying Both

Back in Q3 2023, I was an office administrator for a 50-person architecture firm. My job included sourcing promotional items, custom desk signs, and sometimes even small parts for model-making. We had a $15,000 annual budget for vendor-made goods. The markup on custom aluminum nameplates? About 300%. When our CMO asked for 200 personalized laser-engraved projects for a trade show, the cheapest quote came in at $1,800. That's when I started looking at buying our own equipment.

The numbers said to buy only a laser engraver—a 20W CO2 unit covering plastics and wood, plus the Falcon 5W for metal marking. But my gut said we needed a 3D printer too, even though early cost analysis showed it would take 18 months to break even. I went with my gut and ordered a Creality Ender 3 V3 SE alongside the Falcon 5W. Six months later, the 3D printer had already paid for itself by producing custom jigs and sample parts that would have cost $50-100 each from a vendor. The laser paid itself off in three months just from nameplates alone.

(That trade show project? We did 200 engraved brass nameplates in-house for $320 in materials. The CMO was thrilled.)

What the Falcon 5W Can and Cannot Do with Metal

Here's something vendors won't tell you: the Creality Falcon 5W is a diode laser. It marks metal—it doesn't cut it. You can create beautiful, permanent black annealed marks on stainless steel, aluminum, and titanium. But if you want to cut through 1mm steel sheet, you need at least a 20W fiber or CO2 laser, which costs 10x more.

Laser cutting metal with the Falcon 5W is not possible for any practical thickness. I learned this when a colleague asked if we could cut custom stencils from 0.5mm aluminum. I tried three passes at max power. Result: ugly burn marks, zero penetration. We ended up outsourcing those to a local shop with a fiber laser. The cost? $40 for a batch of 50—still cheaper than buying a fiber laser for one project.

But for marking? It's fantastic. We now produce:

• Stainless steel measuring tools with clear, permanent markings (takes about 2 minutes per piece)
• Aluminum desk nameplates with a crisp black finish (5-7 minutes each)
• Custom tools for the model shop, marked with company logos and serial numbers

One specific win: our accounting department requested 30 custom brass data plates for new equipment. Using LightBurn software and the Falcon 5W, each plate took 3 minutes to engrave. Cost per plate: $0.45 in brass blanks. Vendor quote: $12 each. Total savings on that one job: $346.50.

The Ender 3 V3 SE: The Real Workhorse

I don't have hard data on the Ender 3 V3 SE power consumption vs. competitors, but based on running it for 12-16 hour print sessions, my sense is it's way more efficient than our old printer. The box says 350W max; in practice, it seems to draw about 120W average during printing. Compared to the 500W dehumidifier we run in the same room, it's super modest. (For reference: running it for 10 hours at peak costs about $0.40 in electricity in our area.)

What most people don't realize is that the auto-leveling on the V3 SE saves a ton of time. Our old printer required manual leveling every 5-10 prints—a 15-minute chore that often resulted in bad first layers anyway. The V3 SE just works. I've printed PLA, PETG, and even some flexible TPU on it with minimal tweaking. For a shop that does both functional parts and display models, it's been a game-changer.

(One thing that surprised me: the Creality Raptor scanner software integration. We use it to scan small parts and reverse-engineer broken components. The Ender prints the replacement overnight. Seriously, the ROI on that combo alone has been insane.)

Comparing to Other Options (Without Bashing Anyone)

People ask me about Cricut sticker machines for the kind of work we do. Honestly, if your world is vinyl stickers and paper crafts, a Cricut is a no-brainer. But for us—needing metal marking, hardware parts, and durability—the Creality ecosystem made more sense. The Falcon 5W and Ender 3 together cost about $700. A Cricut Maker 3 plus a metal engraver setup would have been around $1,000 and way less versatile.

But then again, if you're making 200 custom stickers for a small event, the Cricut is the better tool. It's about knowing your limits—which brings me to my next point.

The "Professional Boundaries" Rule That Saved Me Grief

A vendor who once told us "our fiber laser is overkill for your needs, just go to a local shop" earned my trust for all future big purchases. I apply the same thinking to our own tooling. The Falcon 5W is not a fiber laser. It won't cut thick metals. The Ender 3 V3 SE is not a production-grade printer—it's for prototypes and small runs. Knowing these boundaries has kept us from over-promising to internal clients and wasting time on projects that need more horsepower.

I'd rather have a specialist who knows their limits than a generalist who overpromises.

Practical Tips for Office/Maker Space Buyers

If you're considering a similar setup, here's what I'd recommend based on 18 months of experience:

1. Start with one machine. Either the Falcon 5W for engraving or the Ender 3 for printing. They're both affordable enough to add later. We started with the Ender, then added the laser 3 months later.
2. Budget for software. LightBurn for the laser ($80/year) is essential. The free Creality slicer for the Ender is honestly fine for most jobs.
3. Ventilation matters. Even with the Falcon 5W's low smoke output, you need airflow. We built a small enclosure (about $60 in materials) with a fan to the outside. (Yes, I followed USPS sizing guidelines for the exhaust duct—go figure.)
4. Test materials. I wish I had tracked my material testing log more carefully from the start. What I can say anecdotally is that 80% of our failed projects were due to testing a new material without proper settings. Stick to approved profiles until you know what you're doing.

When This Setup Isn't the Answer

Let me be honest: if your core business is cutting stainless steel or aluminum sheets all day, the Falcon 5W is wrong for you. You need a fiber laser ($3,000+). If you're printing 500+ identical parts per month for sale, an Ender 3 will be too slow—look at a Bambu Lab or Voron. And if you're just making paper stickers, get a Cricut—it's cheaper and simpler.

But for a small business or maker space that needs to produce custom laser engraved projects, functional 3D parts, and small metal-engraved items? The Creality Falcon 5W and Ender 3 V3 SE combo is seriously hard to beat. Prices as of January 2025: Falcon 5W around $250-300, Ender 3 V3 SE around $280-330 (verify current pricing on Creality's site). That's under $600 total for a setup that can produce $1000+ worth of custom work in a month.

Bottom line: know what you need, know your machine's limits, and you'll save a ton of money and stress.